Mass Conversions to Hinduism among Indian Muslims Author(s): Yoginder Sikand and Manjari Katju Reviewed work(s): Source:

Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, No. 34 (Aug. 20, 1994), pp. 2214-2219 Published by: Economic and Political Weekly Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4401654 . Accessed: 05/11/2012 02:29
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Mass

Conversions Indian

to Hinduism Muslims

among

Yoginder Sikand Manjari Katju In cases of mass conversion of Muslimsto Hinduism,the central thrusthas been on their de-Islamisation ratherthan on their accepting the Hindu religion. The Muslimcastes which have been particularly vulnerable to Hindu missionary efforts have been those which are only nominally Muslim and retain many Hindu customs and beliefs. Most of the mass conversions have occurred among MuslimRajputgroups. TheHindu missionaries, too, have shown an inordinate interest in converting the-socially dominantand powerful Muslim Rajputsand not the 'lower' Muslim castes whoform the majorityof the IndianMuslimpopulation.Finally, the mass conversionshave mostlyoccurred in the backwardregions of northernIndia wherefeudalism is still largely intact and where brahminismhas not been challenged by assertive 'lower' castes.
and, in turn,the chieftains would recognise the brahmins and as theirspiritualpreceptors would grantthemextensive landholdingsas well as otherformsof statepatronage. Gradually, the brahminicalvalues, customs and beliefs would then filter down from the chieftains to their subjects leading to their eventual Hinduisationand their absorption into the caste system, mainly as sudras (untouchablesand menial castes). Today, however, this unorganised Hinduisation processis being supplemented with planned and organised missionary efforts of such groups as the Arya Samaj, the VishwaHinduParishad (VHP),theRashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS),theRamakrishna Mission, etc. These outfits do not restrict themselves merely to the propagation of religious tenets, but also run a network of schools, dispensaries and communityservice centres for many of the non-Hindu groupsamong whom they are proselytising. Traditionally,Hinduisation of non-Hindu groups occurred in a very gradual fashion over a long period of time, sometimes extending over several generations.This was because it was essentially an extended process of culturaltransformation.:In this sense, therefore,it would not be entirely properto speak of 'conversion' to Hinduism since non-Hindus admitted into the Hindu caste system were not required to accept any set of beliefs andcustomsas a preparticular condition.WhatHinduisation did entail was system. the acceptance of certain brahminicalnotions, such as the Karmatheory,belief in the HINDUISATION PROCESS supremacyof the brahmincaste and observance of the rules of caste purity and polTill recently,the process of Hinduisation lution. Non-Hindus gained entry into the proceededin a completelyunorganisedfash- Hindu fold through this acculturationproion. Typically, itinerant brahmin priests cess which occurredalongside their accomwould ventureoff into non-Hindudomains modation within the caste system. and establish mutually supportiverelationUnlike, for example, in Islam,where nonshipswiththerulingchieftainsof those areas. Muslim individuals and groups become The priests would confer upon them the Muslims immediatelyupon their recitation exalted status of kshatriya (warrior caste) of the Islamic creed, in Hinduism, which THEoriginof the term'Hindu'can be traced to the ancient Persians who employed to refer to the inhabitantsof India who were unified not by belief in any single set of religious doctrines but by membership in hierarchically arranged 'jatis' (castes) which collectively formed what was known as the 'varna vyavastha' (caste system). What today goes under the name of the 'sanatan dharma'(Hinduism)refersessentially to the duties and rightsof individualsas members of castesintowhichthey areborn,thedharma of each caste being different. Hence, caste, andnot any common set of religious beliefs andcustoms,formsthe bedrockof the Hindu religion and social order. Unlike, for instance, Islam and Christianity, Hinduismlacks any creed which nonHindus are required to accept in order to enter the Hindu fold. Theoretically, since birthin a particular Hinducaste alone qualifies one to be considered a Hindu, nonHindus cannot convert to the sanatana dharma. However, the spreadof Hinduism fromthe Hinduheartland of 'aryavarta' (the Gangeticbelt of northIndia),not only to the rest of the subcontinentbut even to far-off Indo-China, Malaysia and Indonesia in ancienttimes suggests thatin actualpractise it has been possible for non-Hindugroups to be Hinduised.This Hinduisationprocess is, in fact, still under way among many aboriginal and other non-Hindu groups in India who are outside the pale of the caste lacks a set of fundamentaltenets binding upon all its followers, entry of non-Hindus cannot be instantaneous. Hence, 'conversion' to Hinduismoccurredas the result of a long process involving not the acceptance of anyparticular religiousdoctrine but,rather, the imbibing of brahminicalculturalnorms legitimisingthecastesystem.Thiswentalong with the discardingof customsincompatible with these cultural norms. This gradual process of Hinduisation throughculturalchange is, however, today being addedto by Hindumissionarygroups which conduct 'shuddhi karan' ('purification rituals' or conversion ceremonies) of non-Hindus,who become Hindus immediately upon the completion of the initiation rites.' In India the closest ties that an individual has arewith membersof his or herown caste or jati. The jati is an endogamous, commensual unit affording security as well as an identity to its members. Membershipof a jati is restrictedonly to those who areborn into it. It is difficult, if not impossible, for a Hinduto exist in isolation from his or her own particularjati. Hence conversions in India to or from Hinduism (or any other religion for that matter) generally take the form of mass conversions. Entirejatis convert together insteadof isolated individuals changing theirreligious allegiances. Today, however,theAryaSamaj,a neo-Hinduoutfit, arrangesfor both individualas well as mass conversions. Non-Hindusgetting married to Hindus now can, and, indeed, often do, theAryaSamaj. convertto Hinduismthrough This is a very recent development, which the 'sanatani' (orthodox) Hindus frown upon since the Hindu scripturesexplicitly proscribe inter-caste and inter-religious marriages. The vast majority of India's over 120 million Muslims are descendants of lowcaste Hindus who converted to Islam to escape from the oppression of the higher

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castes and in searchof equality and dignity. Rarelydidindividuals convertbythemselves, for that would have meant completely cutting off their ties with their castes. Hence, entirecaste groupsembracedIslam together andthenadopteda new, Islamisedor Arabic forthemselves.Forinstance, casteappellation the tantis (weavers) of Bihar began to call themselvesansarisafterbecoming Muslims. In Punjab,the musallis bhangis (sweepers) adoptedthemorerespectabletitleof Musallis. In all these cases, the endogamouscaste unit which was in existence priorto conversion, remainedintacteven after that.This is how Muslim society in India has come to be characterisedby a multiplicity of endogamous caste groups. As shall be discussed later on, it is the existence of castes among the IndianMuslims that allows for the process of Hinduisation to operateamongthem. OF INDIAN HINDUISATION MUSLIMS Conversionsof Hinducastes to Islam for from the shacklesof the social emancipation caste system proceeded steadily so l'ongas the Muslims were politically dominant in India.Thereafter,with the establishmentof British rule, this process slackened considerably. In the early years of the present century the British rulers began instituting political reformsgrantingIndians a certain measureof self-government.These new opsuch as limited voting rightsand portunities, on local body councils, were representation apportioned amongthevariousreligiouscommunitiesof the country in accordancewith their respectivenumericalproportions.The Hindu 'upper'caste elite, forming not more than6 percent of the then Indianpopulation, representeda numericallyrelatively small, yet enormouslypowerful,minority.In order to cornerthebenefitsof the British-instituted reforms, this minority group felt it imperative to enhance the Hindu numerical strength.The only way it could do so was by incorporatinginto the Hindu fold the the aboriginalsandothernonuntouchables, Hindugroups.The conversionof these nonHindus, therefore, clearly represented a political strategyto employ the power of an constructed "Hindu comartificially majority to bolsterthe fortunesof the 'upper' munity" caste Hindu minority. As one perceptive scholar observes, Thereis hardlyany regionin the subcontinent in which 'Hindus', as they defined themselvesbeforeGandhiattempted to coall Untouchables commuoptorincorporate nities into the 'Hindu',fold, represented a cohesive or clearly identifiable'majority' The conjuring community... up of this conmorethananother ceptcanbeseenasnothing attemptby one elite minorityor coalitions of elite minoritiesto dominateall others.2 Hence, the organised efforts by 'upper' caste Hindus to proselytise among the untouchables (who, being outcastes, were

consideredto be outsideHinducaste society) and among Muslims and Christianscannot be seen in isolation from the wider political context since politicalconsiderations played a very crucial role in the entire enterprise.: This continuesto be the case to this very day. Orthodox,or sanatani,Hindusheld thatit was not possible fornon-Hindus,whom they considered 'impure'('ashuddh')to become Hindus. It was the Arya Samaj, a revivalist neo-Hinduoutfitset up in 1875 by a Gujarati brahmin, Dayananda Saraswati,whichbroke fromorthodoxyin this regard.It allowed for non-Hindus to convert to the Arya Samaj sect througha ritualknown as the shuddhi karan ('purification') ceremony.4 'Shuddhi'('purity')is saidto be an ancient andcentralconcept in Hinduism.It refersto a state of ritual 'purity'needed for the performanceof one's dharna, the centralcomponent of which is observing the duties assigned by the brahminicalscriptures to one's caste. Since dharmahas both ritualas well as social dimensions, shuddhirefersto the state of 'purity'requiredfor the performance of both religious rites and social intercourse. Shuddhimay be lost by 'pollution',which may occur througha deathor birthin one's household or by the touch of 'poliuted' materialsor 'impure'people.ShuddhiKaran refers to the rite throughwhich this 'pollution' is consideredto be removed and ritual 'purity'restored,thusenablingone to regain one's caste status.'As an orthodoxbrahmin 'pundit' opines: Theabandonment of prohibited food,separationof contactwithlow persons,andliving in one's si ation according to Varnasrama is called Suddhi.6 dharmna(cksgMs.ystem) The shuddhikaranriteseems to have been formulatedin the 19th centuryonly, though efforts were made to bestow upon it an ancienthistory.7It first made its appearance in the context of 'upper' caste Hindus who lost their caste for having crossed the seas. The ban on travelling abroad had been imposed by Hindu scriptures for fear of 'upper' caste being unable to observe th6 rules of the maintenanceof caste 'purity'in foreign lands. With the establishment of Britishrulein Indiamany 'high'casteHindus went to England for higher education. For this, they were excommunicatedfrom their castes butnow could seek re-admissionafter undergoinga 'purification' ceremony.It was this newly-inventedritualthatlatercame to be used to convert untouchablesand other non-Hindu groups to Hinduism. Prior to the mass conversions of certain Muslim groups by the Arya Samaj, there had been isolated instances of individual Muslimsundergoingthe Aryashuddhikaran ceremony. Most of these early Muslim conversions to Hinduism were, however, cases of Hinduconvertsto Islam reconverting back to Hinduism.8 The first instanceof

the conversionof a bornMuslimto the Arya in 1877whenDayananda Samajwas reported Saraswatiperformedthe shuddhiof a Muslim of Dehra Dun, giving him the Hindu name of 'alakhdhari'.9 The mass conversions of Muslims to Hinduism assumed significant proportions only in the 1920s, in the backdropof concertedeffortsby the MuslimandHinduelites to inflatetheirnumbersso as to enhancetheir political bargainingpower.The Arya Samaj was particularlysuccessful among Muslim groups which were only partiallyIslamised andhadstill retainedmanyof theirold Hindu customs and beliefs. Thus, for instance,the sheikhsof Larkana (Sind),a low halfMuslimhalf Hindu caste, were converted by the Sukkurunit of the Arya Samaj as early as in 1905. Similarwas the case with the subrai labanas of Ludhiana (Punjab) and the maiwaris of Ajmer (Rajputana),who, like the Larkana sheikhs, followed a curious mixture of Hindu and Islamic practices."' It is interesting to note that these group conversions to Hinduism organised by the Arya Samaj entailed essentially the giving up of a certainIslamic customs such as the burial of the dead, 'nikah', the visiting of 'dargahs'and circumcision, ratherthan the impartingof Hindu religious knowledge to the new converts." This was possibly because the shuddhimovementwas motivated far less by the desire to promotespirituality andmoralandreligiousvaluesthanby strong anti-Muslim passion.
OF MALKANASAND JATS CONVERSION

The Arya Samaj claimed to be opposed to the caste system basedon birth.However, it is interesting to note, that in the case of the mass conversions of entire Muslims groups to Hinduisma crucialcomponentof the Arya Samajmissionarystrategywas first to construct an artificial history of these groups as being the descendantsof 'upper' caste Hindu kshatriya warriors who were forcibly converted to Islam. It then sought to win them over by instilling in them a false caste identity,prompridein thisconstructed ising them the restorationof their 'upper' caste privileges if they were to de-Islamise themselves. All Muslims, includingthose of 'upper'caste Hindudescent, were treatedby orthodox Hindus as 'unclean' and 'impure' ('achchut' or 'ashuddh') and hence, for Muslim castes of imputedkshatriya descent, conversion to Hinduism seemed to offer a means to regain many of their caste privileges which they had lost on becoming Muslims. Appealing to the caste sentiments of Muslimgroups,therefore, playeda crucial role in the Arya Samaj's missionarysuccesses. Indeed, this remainsthe basic missionof Hindumissionaries eventoday. arystrategy For instance,the presentheadof the Vishwa Hindu Parishad,asserts:

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of this country The MuslimsandChristians were made to forget their Hinduidentity, yet theirlesseridentityis still meticulously preservedsecurely.Till this day they can castetheywere recallfromwhichpar-ticular convertedand in mostcases they continue Thisidentity theircasteidentity. to maintain alonewill, in the future,becomethe means for themto recognisetheirHinduidentity, as a resultof whiclhthe large numbersof thosewho havebeencutoff fromHinduism will come back into its fold." The appealingto caste sentimentsformed, as in all other similarcases, the basis of the of the Arya Samaj's mass mostcontroversial conversions-the shuddhi of the Muslim malkanarajputsof the western districts of the United Provinces in the 1920s. The term 'malkana' is not a clan name, butis a titlederivedfromthe word 'milkiyat' or ownershipof land.The malkanasare said to have been nominally converted to Islam under the Afghan rulers from whom they receivedextensive landgrantsin the Jamuna of Agra,Mathuira tractin the neighbourhood and Delhi. They claimed to be the descendants of the Jadunrajputs,though some of themarealso saidto havepossessedAgarwal bania and tarkarbrahmin ancestry.'3The malkanasfollowed both Hinduand Muslim customs, because of which they were also known as adhbariya ("half Hindu-half Muslim").Yet in the censuses they tended to return themselves as Muslims.'4 Their populationin the 1920s was said to number several hundredthousands.'5 Efforts to convert the malkanas to Hinduismbegan in the first decade of the presentcentury when shuddhi sabhas were set up at various places in the United Provinces by Pandit Bhoj Dutt Sharma of the Arya Samaj. In 1907 the Hindu rajputsof the Agradivision flocked to these sabhas in an attemptto convert the Muslim rajputsso as to therebyenhanccthe numericalstrength of the rajput community.'6 By 1910, the Rajput Sabha, which was, along with the AryaSamaj,activelyengaged in the shuddhi movement,claimedto have converted 1,052 rajputMuslims to Hinduism.'7 It was, however,only in the 1920s thatthe dramatic mass conversions of malkanas began.The firstof these conversionceremonies tookplaceatRaibana,nearAgra.Within the first few months of 1992, over 5,000 malkanaswere said to have been Hinduised and the figure rose to over 30,000 by the end of the year.8 This drive continued till 1927 or so, by which time it is reportedthat about 1,63,000 malkanas had entered the Hindu fold.'9 In the conversion of the malkanas, the Arya Samaj was actively assisted by the Kshatriya Upkarini Mahasabha (Rajput Welfare Society). On August 30, 1992, the at its meeting at Kashiunderthe Mahasabha presidentship of Raja Sir Rampal Singh, decided "to take back Hindurajputswho at

one time or anotherhad turnedMuslims".20 mulajats. ChhotuRam was appointedas its The Mahasabha sought to win over the joint-secretary. Chhotu promised the mula jats that they by repeatedlyplaying up the Muslimrajputs issue of theiruppercaste kshatriyaancestry. would be fully accepted by the Hindujats That the Arya Samaj had to seek the active if they were to renounceIslam. A resolution suggests that was passed during the course of a meeting co-operationof the Mahasabha despite its professeddisavowal of the caste held at Rohtak on April 8, 1923, in which system, the Aryasdid not hesitatein making it was declared that, ('purified') Jats will be Slhuiddh-Slhuddha as theircentralmissionarystrategythe evokNo intotheJatCommunity. fully integrated in'gof caste sentiments. againstshu(ldh-shuddha Jatis todiscriminate In the conversion of the malkanas the Jats in any matterof eating, socialisingor aimof theAryaSamajseems to have primary marriagealliances.23 been their de-Islamisationso as to decrease Despite ChhotuRam's efforts to integrate Muslim numbers.It is also evident that the jat concerned the Hinduisedmulajats into the broader Arya Samaj was not particularly about instructingthe new converts in the community,the Hindujatsseemedunwilling The shuddhi of the mula principles of the Arya faith. Instead, the to accept them.24 malkanasseem to have been rehabilitated, jats, therefore,proveda failureand many of backto Islamthrough at least partially, as Hindu kshatriyas.As themwerereconverted ChinmayanandaSanyasi, an active Arya the efforts of the Isha'at-e-Quranand the Tabligh-ul-Islam,Muslim organisationsset missionary, admitted, up in 1923 with the aim o' rescuingMuslim The malkanas do not become Arya or, gujjarsand rajputswho had been conjats, (Rajput) butgo to theircommunity shuddhi (orthodox).2' verted to Hinduism by the Arya Samaj.25 which is mainly sanatanist As with the conversion of the malkanas, That the Hindu rajputs' active role in the shuddhimovementamong the mulajats, convertingthe malkanarajputswas spurred in which the politician ChhotuRam played more by an interestin increasingtheirnum- the key role, was undertaken more for polithanby a genuinesense of brother- tical gain than out of any genuine spiritual bersrather hood is evident fromthe fact thateven today commitment. Chhotu's personal interest in with the Hindurajputsrefuse to inter-marry ensuring the success of the movement lay the malkanas. in his concern for increasing his own jat The jats are a peasantcommunityinhab- politicalsupport-base. obAs his biographer India,includingpartsof serves: iting north-western present-dayPakistan. The jats of western thatChhotuRam It needsto be emphasised Punjabare, by and large, Muslims, those of movement, in theshuddhi was notinterested centralPunjabbeing Sikhs and those of the were,inclaimassomeotherAryaSamajists easterndistrictsmostly Hindus.However,in ing back some Hindusof lower caste who or Islam in the had embracedChristianity the Haryanaregion of the then province of Haryanaregion. He only worriedlest the in the Rohtakdivision, Punjab,particularly of Hindu jatsgot dwindledby their numbers there lived a significant number of neoconversion.Pointingto thedwindlingnumMuslim jat cultivatorsknown as the Mula ofPunjab, jatsin thepopulation berof Hindu jats. This communitysoon becamethe focus wide-scaleshuddhi ChhotuRamadvocated of the Arya Samaj's missionary efforts.22 of the mulajats (Muslimjats) as one of the By 1921, Rohtakhademerged as a major ways in which it could be over come... In centreof the AryaSamajmovement.Nearly fact, the failure and success of the entire 90 per cent of the registeredAryas of this shuddhimovementwas measuredby the region were drawn from among the Hindu itwas to theaddition Ramin relation Chhotu jats. ChhotuRam, the leadingjat politician, of Hindu likely to maketo the totalnumber who had a strong base among the jat peasjats. The numericalstrengthof any "comantryof Rohtak,was a staunchArya Samaji munity"was necessary in the Punjabof and was the main force behind the shuddhi ChhotuRam's days as thatalone gave the a leverageto makeclaimsto 'Community' of the mulajats. At his instance,resolutions the governmentfor allocationof jobs, rejat panchayats were passedby variousHindu etc. ChlhotuRami'sinterwards,patronage, of the Rohtak division calling for the conest in aind advocacy ofshuddhi in relation 12, version ot Muslim jats. On Novemnber the theory that tosjcat. alon1e.sub.stantiate.s 1925, a resolution to the same effect was acting not ftorthe sake of 'Hinduismn' he wvas passed by a massive gatheringof Hindujats but 'jatisin' to maintain the numerical townof PushkarnearAjmer, atthepilgrimage of jot.s, and to increalse it, if o.s.str-en1gth which was presided over by Maharaja Ramwas advoChhotu sible. Significantly, BijendraSingh, thejat rulerof the Bharatpur cating the readmissionof the purifiedjats state. By 1927, under Chhotu's influence, into their own jat biraderi(caste-brothereven the jat mahasabha, the leading jat hood) not as Aryasbut as jats. In fact, he organisation,had become actively involved resistedall attemptsof the Arya jats to be in the shuddhimovement.In the same year, called Aryas only.26 a committee presided over by Choudhry Chhotu Ram, too, acknowledged the esabCouncil, sentiallypoliticalmotivesbehindtheshuddhi GhasiRam,a memberof the Punj was set up to promotethe conversionof the enterprise when he stated that:

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The very aim of the (shuddhi) movement was to integrate the Shuddh-Shuddh jats into the fold of the jat community so as to strengthen the jats.27 It should also be noted that, as in the case of the malkana rajputs, the supposedly anticaste Arya Samaj not only sought to convert the mulajats as an entire caste group (which it would not have attempted had it really been opposed to the caste system), but also tried, though in vain, to get the mulajats absorbed into the Hindu jat caste. Had the shuddhi of the mula jats been successful this would undoubtedly have further strengthened the caste system, a social order which the Aryas denounced in theory. Besides the conversion to Hinduism of nominally Muslim castes such as the malkanas and the mulajats, the Arya Samaj also reached out to castes on the peripheries of the Hindu caste order who, though non-Muslim, practised many Islamic customs. Historically, it was the gradual adoption of many Muslim practices by non-Muslim caste groups that paved the way for their eventual formal conversion to Islam. The Arya Samaj sought to prevent this by campaigning against these customs and practices. This de-islamisation among the peripheral castes was soon followed by their eventual conversion to Hinduism after undergoing the Arya shuddhi ceremony. One instance of this is the Arya Samaj's missionary efforts among the Bishnois, a large farming community spread over Rajputana and the western districts of the United Provinces. The Bishnois had adopted several Muslim customs suclhas burial of the dead, employing the name 'Allah' to refer to God and using Muslim names and, unlike orthodox Hindus, they did not worship idols. A leading Arya missionary, Shraddhananda Sanyasi, explains this by saying that: ...having once slain a Qadi, who had interwith their rite of widow-burning, they f-erede had compounidedthe offence by embracing Islam.2x The Arya Samaj began working among the Bishnois in the 1920s. Gradually they were made to give up their Islamic customs and today they are almost a full-fledged Hindu caste. Another similar case of the Arya Samaj's efforts to do away with Islamic customs practised by peripheral non-Muslim castes was that of its work among the bhangis (sweepers) of Rajputana and the Punjab. From the point of view of the brahminical Dharmasastr-as (law-books), the bhangis, along with all other 'untouchable' groups, are considered to be non-Hindus orotutcastes, since they fall outside the 'chaturvarnya', the four-fold Hindu caste order. Hence, the bhangis were largely uninfluenced by the brahminical ethos. They, in fact, had adopted many Islamic customs and several of them

This free borrowingof Muslim customs by thebhangiswas notedby WilliamCrooke who, writing in 1896, observed that, The religion of the sweepers is a curious
mixture of various faiths. Some ... profess

to be Hindus, others Musalmans,others

Sikhs...29

The bhangisof the princelystate of JodhcelebratedMuslim purin westernRajputana Moharrum festivals such as Shab-e-Barrat, andthe 'ursof local 'pirs'.Mostof themwere followers of the cults of Sufi saints such as ZindaPir,Lal Beg, SujaniPir andGhazi Pir. Many non-Muslimbhangisof Jodhpurkept Muslim names.:" The Arya Samajbegan its programmeof de-Islamisingthe Jodhpurbhangis in 1923. Its main objective was said to have been "to eradicateMusliminfluencefromtheirsocioreligious spheres and to create a feeling of The conversionof the bhangis Hinduism".3' to the Arya Samaj fold did not in any way help in amelioratingtheirdismal social and economic conditions. Nor did the giving up of Muslim customs at all help in elevating themfromthelowestrungof thecastesystem. In the wake of the partitionof the subcontinentin August 1947,bloodyriotsbroke out all over northernIndia in which thousandslost theirlives. Inseveralareas,Hindus forced Muslims to choose between fleeing or else agreeto Pakistan,being slaughtered ing to convert to Hinduism. Under duress scores of Muslims are said to have chosen the third option.32 By 1950, when India declared itself a republic,the communalsituationhadshown some signs of improvement.Fairly strong modernist and liberal political tendencies had emerged, and Hindu political outfits and the RSS such as the Hindu Mahasabha had been considerably marginalised.This, however, was not to last very long and by the early 1970s, coinciding with the emergence of the generalcrisis of the Indianstate, extreme right wing brahminicalHindu militancy saw an enormousupsurge.The main force behind this was the RSS, which operates through a large number of frontal organisations working in different fields. One of the most powerful of these is the VHP, the "WorldHinduCongress",floated in 1964, among whose main objectives is the conversion of all the non-Hindus to Hinduism.
RECENTCONVERSIONS

had converted to Islam in search of social equality and dignity. Economic and Political Weekly

The most recent of the mass conversion of Muslims to Hinduism organised by the VHP has been thatamongthe Cheeta-Merat rajputMuslims. This community numbers over 3,00,000 and is scattered across the andAjmer of Udaipur, districts Pali,Bhilwara in Rajasthan,with their biggest concentration being in the Beawar region of Ajmer district. these Muslims are believed to be descended from the rajputking Prithvi Raj

Chauhan,who foughtseveralbattleswiththe Muslim rulersof Delhi. According to local of MeraChauhan, Cheeta,grandson tradition, converted to Islam during the reign of the AD) (I1658-1707 Aurangzeb Mughalemperor and'his descendants came to be known as cheetas, mers or merats.On the other hand, the other descendantsof MeraChauhanremainedHindusandareknownas goratmerats, bararmers or rawats.33 Intheearlycensuses, however,all themers were classified as belonging to non-Hindu aboriginaltribesand even today the distinction between Muslim and Hindu mers remains blurred.Indeed, apartfrom the practice of circumcision and the buryingof the dead, the nominally Muslim mers are quite indistinguishablefromtheirHindurelatives. Until recently,mers,irrespectiveof religion, would andbrahmins usedto freelyinter-marry performtheir marriageceremonies according to Hindu rites. Commenting on the admixtureof Hindu andMuslimcustomsamongthemerorcheeta rajputs,Lodrick notes that: shared (Hindus) andRawats Mers(Muslims) woresimilar inter-dined, a commonculture, the same Hindu dressandeven worshipped manyof the deities. Hindumers disregard concerning Hinduprescriptions traditional ablutions,ceremonialforms and food, and abouteatingbeef or have no compunction any animal flesh. Many orthodoxHindus disassociatethemselvesfromthe mercommunity,and a strongcase can be madefor mers,whetherKatatmer$,Gorat regarding merator Rawat,as a distinctgroupthatfits theMouslemnortheHindumould.34 neither The close kinship and other social ties between the Hinduand Muslim mers, however, came in for vigorous opposition from the Arya Samaj. Its founder, Dayananda Saraswati, had set up his headquartersat Ajmer,andhe is saidto have madethe Hindu mers of the neighbouring Masauda and Merwara regions give up the practice of intermarryingwith the Muslim mers.35 of the Muslim The gradualdrifting apart' accelerated mersandthe Rawatswas further of the franchiseandcomby the introduction in BritishIndiaas well munalrepresentation as by the bloody events immediatelybefore andaftertheindependenceof Indiain 1947.6 Accordingto JamalKhan,presidentof the Sabha of Beawar, the Cheeta-Merat-Kathat first conversions of Muslim mer rajputsto Hinduism occurred in 10 to 15 villages in the Bhim tehsil of the Udaipur district in effortsweremade strenuous 1947.Thereafter, to Hinduisethe mers of Beawar.One means that was adopted was the instructiongiven to Hindu school teachers by some local rajputheadsof villages to change the names of their Muslim students to Hindu ones in the official school records.7 Inthe 1970s, the organisedattemptsby the VHP toconvertthemerMuslimswerefurther intensified. It has been alleged that since

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VHP's way of ensuringthat the conversion ceremony is seen as purely voluntary.43 The VHP claims to have converted over 47,000 mers, though this numberis said to be a gross exaggeration.In the wake of these conversions some Islamic organisations such as the Jamiyat-ul-Ulema-i-Hind,the Rajasthan DiniTalimiSanghandthe Muslim United Forumof Pali are said to have stepped up efforts to bring the mers back to Islam. The conversions among the mers, quite expectedly, causedgreatconcernto Muslim leaders and a leading Indian Muslim politician,SyedShahabuddin wrotetothegovernment seeking its opinion in the matter. In response, the home ministry, in its letter December29, 1983 to Shahabuddin, opined thatthe Cheeta-Merats who hadcome under the influence of the VHP had only thereby "re-affirmed theirfaith in Hinduism".44 The choice of the phrase"'re-affirmation of faith" instead of "conversion"was too significant to be ignored. The VHP claims to have converted over etc.19 20,000 Muslimsin the remoteKutchdistrict As is evident from this resolution,the de- of northern Gujarat, though this is certainly Islamisationof the Muslim mers, and their a gross exaggeration. It is now said to be acceptance of certain Hindu customs and eyeing the 5,00,000 strong Maul-e-Salaam cultural thana concernfortheir girasiya rajputMuslims of central Gujarat, norms,rather spiritualand social development, forms the who still retain many Hindu customs.45 core of the conversion drive among them. Muslims in many partsof Indialive in conThe VHP is reported to have made several stantfearof attacksby Hindumobs in which, films on Prithvi Raj Chauhan and Baba especiallyin recentyears,thepolice is known Ramdeo Ji, another Chauhan hero whom to play an extremely partisan role, often Muslim rajputsalso revere, which are reg- actively assisting the Hindurioters.Heightularly screened in mer Muslim villages. ened insecurityhas drivensome Muslimsto Throughthese films the VHP is seeking to enter Hinduism to protect their lives and a distortedhistoryof the ancestors property. Hasmukh Patel, a leading VHP propagate of the mers as havingbeen forcibly convert- functionaryfrom Gujarat,explains his outed to Islam by the Muslim rulers.4"' fits success in winning Muslim converts by Takingadvantageof the abjectpovertyof stating that: the mers, the VHP is said to be attempting We promisethe both swabhiman(self-reto win them over by the liberal distribution spect) and salamati(security)if they conof rice and clothes. It has set up free dispenvert.46 saries in the Muslim mer-inhabited hamlets Seen in the contextof the repeatedbloody of Shyamgarb, Chana and Kharkhedi in anti-Muslimprogroms thatperiodicallyrock Ajmer districtas well as schools, hospitals Gujarat,this promise to grant Muslim conand creches in other mer villages of the verts security seems but a veiled threat of Beawar region.4' violence being unleashed against Muslims The process of persuading the Muslim if they fail to convert. mers to convert to Hinduismis said to take The VHP is said to have convertedsome several months and it involves organising 200 Muslims of the mir caste of musicians kirtans(ceremoniesat which hymnsaresung in Ahmedabad,Gujaratin early 1993. It is and sermonsare delivered) and meetings in also said to be attemptingto convert half a which the VHP's version of the history of dozen Muslimcastes in centralGujarat who the mers is narrated.42 Before the actual still have not discardedmany of the Hindu conversionitself, villagers are made to sign customs of theirancestors.47 Conversionsof a joint letter addressed to the VHP which Muslims to Hinduismare also said to have invariablystates that they want to give up occurred in some statesruledbytheBharatiya theirMuslimcustomsata ceremonyin which Janata Party (BJP), the right wing Hindu they shall take a solemn oath to adhere to party. Thus, in 1992 the rajput Muslim the 'pure kshatriya dharma', the rules of inhabitantsof eight villages in the Hathras to membersof the districtof UttarPradeshwere convertedby social conductappropriate Hindurajputwarrior caste. The letteris said Arya Samaj and the VHP. According to a to always end with a requestto the VHP to reportin a leading English language daily: makearrangements to screenfilms on Prithvi ..over the past many years, volunteersof Raj Chauhan. A letter of this sort is the the RSS have been systematically raiding 1975, the VHP's conversion drive in this region has been funded by a monthly grant of Rs 3.00,000by BirlaandCompany,India's largestindustrialhouse.8 In the same year, the ChauhanRajputSabha, a Hindu rajput outfit allied to the VHP, held a meeting on January 19 at Kana Kheda in the Ajmer district which was attended by Hindu Chauhanrajputheads of several villages. In its resolution it appealed to the Muslim Chauhan mers to abide by the following decisions of the sabha: (I ) Circumcision shouldbedoneawaywith. (2) Keepingin mindthe gloryof ourcaste, themarriages of ourchildrenshouldbe performedin Hindu style by circumbulationof fire. (3) On the deathof any Chauhan, no.fakir (Muslimmendicant)should be called and nor should the fatiha be recited. of Prithvi (4) Sincewe arethedescendants Raj Chauhan, to maintainthe glory of our caste we shouldgive our children suchas only Hindutitles andsurnames Singh, Raj, Chand,Kumar,Lal, Ram, 2218

the community(i e, the Muslimsof these villages), using theirabjectpovertyto lure them with promisesof employmentand a higherstandard of living...Notsurprisingly, theexertionsof the RSS bandborefruit-and four years ago, a sizeable number of Muslims, as many as 12 each fromthe villages of Allahpurand Sujjanalone, took to Hinduism. The reportgoes on to add that the ruling BJP, too, had a hand in these conversions, and that: ...it (the BJP) has begun to take direct interest in the operation.On October 18, a party delegation led by two MPs from DrLB RawalandMrSuresh Hathras, Anand, in a shastrapujan ('worshipparticipated ping of weapons')ceremonyat Sujjan. The ceremonywas organisedby the Saraswati ShishuMandir,a school run by the RSSsponsoredVidya Bharatimission. At the ceremony,the MPs, accordingto eyewitness accounts,gave impassionedspeeches extollingthevirtues of thekshatriya (rajputs) andstressed thattheadoption of thekshatriya dharmawas the only path to salvation. Since Sujjanis an overwhelminglyMuslim village, the purposeof the visit by the BJP's MPs, according to the report, "could only have been to secure more conversions".48 The dramatic risein recentyearsof the BJP in Indian politics has ominous portentsfor the futureof the IndianMuslims. It is likely that if this party were to come to power at the centre,efforts to convertthe Muslims to Hinduismwould receive a tremendousimpetus. After all, the late M S Golwalkar,the head of the RSS of which the BJP is the political wing, had declaredthat the Indian Muslims must, ... eitheradopt the Hinducultureand language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindureligion,mustentertain no idea but those of the glorificationof the Hindurace and culture,i e, of the Hindu nation,and must lose their separateexistence to mergein theHindu race,ormaystay in the country,wholly subordinated to the HinduNation,claimingnothing,deserving no privileges,farless anypreferential treatment-not even citizen's rights.49
CONCLUSION

The Hindu missionary enterprise seems more of a politically-inspired movement ratherthan a purely religious undertaking. In all the cases of the mass conversions of Muslims to Hinduism the central trust has been on theirde-Islamisationratherthanon theiraccepting,in any real sense, the Hindu religion. This is not merely due to the absence of a set of fundamental tenets in Hinduism, but primarilybecause the Arya Samaj and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad missionaries seem more concerned with weaningMuslimsaway fromIslamthanwith the spiritualinstructionand developmentof their converts. August 20, 1994

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Muslim castes which have been particularlyvulnerableto Hindumissionaryefforts have several featuresin common. They are generally only nominally Muslim and still retainmanyHinducustomsandbeliefs. Most of themassconversionshaveoccurred among Muslimrajput groups.The malkanas,cheeta merats, Maul-e-Salaam girasiyas and the meos are all of rajputorigin, and the mula jats, too, claim kshatriyaancestry. In converting to Hinduism many rajputMuslims wereperhaps attracted by the promisesgiven to them of their being restoredthe 'upper' caste privileges due to them as descendants of members of the rajput kshatriya community. The Hindumissionaries,too, seem to have exhibitedan inordinate interestin converting the socially dominantand powerfulMuslim rajputs,since the entire shuddhi movement was largely undertakento bolster the fortunesof theentrenched Hindu'higher'castes. On the other hand, there have been few instancesof mass conversions to Hinduism amongthe 'lower' Muslimcastes, who form the majorityof the Indian Muslim population. This is perhapsdue to the fact that the Hindu missionary outfits, being upholders of the brahminical caste order, have not shown greatconcern for the spiritualsalvation and the social upliftmentof the lower castes. Further,since the Hindu missionary organisationspromise to rehabilitateMuslim converts into the caste to which their Hindu ancestors originally belonged, few 'low' caste Muslims would be willing to enterthe Hindufold since that would mean atthe lower beingonce againaccommodated rungs of the caste system as untouchables and shudras.5" It is.also worth noting that these mass conversions have mostly occurred in the backwardregions of northernIndia where feudalism is still largely intact and where brahminism has not been challenged by assertive 'lower' castes as elsewhere. In regions such as southern India, where Muslimsare fairlywell-educatedandwhere 'upper'caste Hinducommunalismhas been, to a greatextent,counteredby low caste antibrahminicalmilitancy, few conversions to HinduismamongMuslimshave been reported. There have, in fact, been no instancesof any major mass conversions of Muslims outside the orthodoxbrahminicalheartland of northernIndia.

Notes
1 J F Seunarine, Reconversion to Hinduism throughSuddhi,Madras,ChristianLiterature Society, 1977. See pp 100-105 for a detailed description of the actual conversion ceremony. 2 Robert Eric Frykenburg, 'Fundamentalism and Revivali5m in South Asia' in James Warner Bjorkman (ed), Fundamentalism, Revivalists and Violence in SouthAsia, New Delhi, Manohar, 1988, p 39.

3 A leading Hindu Punjabileader, Lala Lajpat Rai, writing in The Tribune of Lahore on December 13, 1924, stated that, "The Principle of Shuddhi...has now been accepted by the Hindu Sabha, and I am free to confess that the idea at the back of this decision is partly political partly communal and partly humanitarian". 4 See Rajeshwar,Paravartan Kyo aur Kaise? (Hindi)('Conversion:Why and How?'), New Delhi, Suruchi Prakashan,1992. The author is the formerhead of the south Delhi unit of the RSS and served for many years as the presidentof the Delhi wing of the VHP. The book is an account of shuddhi by one who claims to have performedmany conversions of non-Hindus. 5 See JTF Jordens, 'Reconversion to Hinduism: The Shuddhi of the Arya Samaj' in GA Oddie (ed), Religion in South Asia, New Delhi, Manohar,1977 for a detailedtreatment of the issue. 6 Shriman Mehta Ramachandra Ji Shastri, Patiton Ki Shuddhi Sanatan Hai ('Shuddhi of the BackwardClasses is Ancient') Lahore, Arya PradeshikPratinidhiSabha, 1908, p 76. 7 See Seunarine, op cit, pp 29-31. 8 KennethW Jones, Arya Dharm. Hindu Consciousness in Nineteenth Century Punjab, New Delhi, Manohar, 1972, p 131. 9 Jordens, op cit, p 147. 10 Ibid, p 152. 11 Jordensobserves that, "In the extant reports thereis a noticeable absence of any reference to thereligiousinstruction of converts,shuddhi was not a rite that presupposed an inner religious conversion reinforced by instruction to foster a new interiorlife. It was a rite of access... A change in the individual's(neoHindu's) religious life is not a question primarily of inner conversion, but rather the acquisition of the right of entry into the manifoldsects, panths, ordersandsabhas and the right of access to the very heartof orthodoxy-the Vedasandthe Vedic rites,"(op cit, p 154). 12 Quoted in Rajeshwar,op cit, p ix. 13 MushirulHasan,Nationalismand Communal Politics in India 1885-1930, New Delhi, Manohar, 1991, p 210f. 14 Jordens, op cit, p 158. 15 Horst Krtwer (ed), Kunwar Mohammad Ashr(af An Indian Scholar and Revolutiofl,, , Akademie-Verlag Berlin, Berlin, 1966, p 350. 16 M Hasan, op cit, p 237. 17 Jones, op cit, p 131. 18 M Hasan, op cit, p 210. 19 Seunarine, op cit, p 37. 20 lbid, p 37. 21 Quoted in Seunarine, op cit, p 37. 22 Prem Chowdhry,Punjab Politics-The Role of Sir ChhotuRam, New Delhi, Vikas, 1984, p 121. 23 Ibid, quoted on p 121. 24 Ibid, p 122f. 25 Ibid, p 121. 26 Ibid, p 122. 27 Ibid, quoted on p 122. 28 Shraddhananda Sanyasi, Hindu Sanghathan, KurukshetraGurukula, Kurukshetra,1924, p 36. 29 W Crooke, The Tribes and Castes of the North WesternProvinces alnd Oudh, Vol I, Office of the Superintendentof the Govern-

ment Printing Press, Calcutta, 1896, p 267. 30 ShyamLal, 'SanskritisationandSocialChange among the Bhangis in Jodhpur' in Indian Journal of Social Work,Vol 34, No 1, 1973, p 39. 31 ShyamLal, 'Social ReformMovementamong the Bhangis of WesternRajasthan'in Eastern Anthropologist, Vol 32, No 2, 1979, p 101. 32 See Partap C Aggarwal, 'The Meos of Rajasthan and Haryana' in Infliaz Ahmed (ed), Caste and Social Stratification among th2e Muslims, New Delhi, Manohar, 1973, p 25 for an account of forced conversions and killings of meo rajputMuslimsby Hindusand royal authorities in the princely states of Bharatpurand Alwar in 1947. 33 DeryckO, Lodrick,'A CattleFairin Rajasthan' in CurrentAnthropology,Vol 25, No 2, April 1984, p 221. 34 Ibid, p 221. 35 V K Vashishtha, 'Arya Samaj Movement in Rajasthan during the 19th Century' in S C Malik (ed), Dissent, Protest and Reform in Indian Civilisation, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla, 1977, pp 229-30. 36 Lodrick, op cit, p 221. 37 Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi, 'The Story of Muslim Conversions in Rajasthan'in Radiance, September 20-26, 1992, p 7. 38 Ibid, p 7. 39 Ibid, quoted on p 6. 40 Ibid, p 6. 41 Ibid, p 7. 42 SreekantKhandekar,'Rajasthan: Conversion Convulsions', India Today, June 30, 1986, p 143. 43 Ibid, p 143. 44 Quoted from a letter dated December 29, 1983 from the Home Ministryof the Government of India to Syed Shahabuddin, MP, Muslim India, Vol II, No 14, February1984, p 55. 45 India Today, February 28, 1993, p 100. 46 Ibid, The India Today reportquotes a certain Abdul Rashid Mir, now Prakashbhai, a scooter mechanic of Ahmedabad, who explained his conversion to Hinduism by saying, "We want our sons to be secure in the future." 47 Ibid, p 100. 48 Vidya Subrahmaniam,'Muslims in Western UP-Spectre of Conversions Haunts a Minority', The Statesman,New Delhi, April 10, 1992. 49 M S Golwalkar, We, or Our Nationhood Defined, BharatPublications, Nagpur, 1939, pp 47-48. 50 As for those Muslim converts to Hinduism who were not aware of the caste of their Hindu ancestors, the Hindu Mahasabha,the leadingorthodoxHindupoliticalorganisation, proposed that a new Varna or broad caste category, in addition to the existing four varnas be created to accommodate them. Thus N C Chatterjee,deliveringthe presidential address at the Hindu Mahasabha's 30th general session at Bhopal on December 28, 1952 asserted that, "We should not neglect Shuddhi and Sangathan (Hindu unity) and we should declare all converts to Hinduism who cannot be fitted into their old families as belonging to the Mahasava Varna"(see N C Chatterjee, Presidential Address, All India Hindu Mahasabha,New Delhi, 1952, p 19).

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